The Act of Projecting

One of the biggest things that causes issues in interpersonal relationships is the act of projecting.  This is why people say you can't really love others until you love yourself.  Because whatever bad things we feel about ourselves we will often project onto others. 

For example, when it came to my high school basketball team and many of my college classes I felt like a failure.  I didn't perform as well in games or in my class discussions as I had wanted to.  I then projected that onto my team mates and class mates and thought that they all viewed me as a failure as well.  Also there have been times in my walk with God where I felt like a failure, as we all have I'm sure, and so I projected that on God.  I thought God viewed me as a failure at times.  But I was just projecting on him what I felt about myself. 

This can go for any negative feeling that we have about ourselves.  If we think we are ugly, we will think everyone else thinks we are ugly too.  If we think we are a bad person, we will think everyone else thinks that too. 

Whatever you think others think about you, there is a good chance that you actually just think that about yourself. 

So the solution is to build yourself up and encourage yourself.  Don't rely on others to build you up.  Also pray that God will help you to combat the lies inside your own mind.  If you ever feel like a failure, try to focus on the things you do well instead of focusing on any failures.  If you feel ugly, stop comparing yourself with Hollywood models and be happy with how God made you.  If you feel like a bad person, try to remember all the good things you have done in your life time rather than the bad. 

This is why the Bible says, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  This includes whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy about yourself as well.  This may seem like pride, but really it is just the pathway to peace in your own mind.  If you don't want to be plagued by feelings of insecurity or discouragement from Satan, focus on the positive always and never the negative, about yourself and others.  Amen. 

God bless!